ATVAM 2008 Legislative Update
April 10, 2008

The 2008 MN Legislative session has been moving very fast now that the bonding bill has been finalized. Most policy changes have taken a back seat to cutting budgets and balancing the new deficit. With that said, the ATVAM lobbying team has been hard at work protecting the ATV account and implementing some of the ATV legislative summit initiatives.

On February 25, 2008, the House and Senate voted to override a major transportation appropriation bill that raised the gasoline use tax on a stair level maxing out at 8.5 cents. This will increase revenue quite significantly to the ATV un-refunded gas tax account.

The gas tax increase is coupled with something that ATVAM has advocated for in the previous three sessions. The percentage of ATV un-refunded gas tax was increased to .27 from .15. This almost doubles the amount of money transferred to the ATV account out of the Highway Trust Fund. This formula change was included in the omnibus tax bill that was sent to the governor and signed in early March. We owe much thanks to Rep. Al Doty (DFL-Royalton), Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake), Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Twp), and Rep. Tom Hackbarth(R-Cedar) as well as Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), Sen. Rod Skoe (DFL-Clearbrook), Sen. Tom Saxhaug (DFL-Grand Rapids) and Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL- Plummer) as key advocates in this long and contentious battle in the legislature. Sen. Marty did offer an amendment on the floor of the Senate to remove this provision, but was defeated by a vote of 39-25. We also received word that some members of the House were going to try to remove the un-refunded gas tax provision on the floor, but that never actualized, due to a swift and effective response, and the language stayed in the bill and was signed into law.

The new money that will be put into the ATV account in DNR is in the process of being appropriated. The Governor recommended adding $300,000 for the Trails and Waterways Division for trail monitoring and development in his budget recommendation. The House has taken that recommendation. The Senate appropriated in the following manner: $150,000 Trails and Waterways Division, $35,000 to Grant-in-aid trails and $185,000 to the local enforcement grants. These appropriations will be finalized in the supplemental budget bill conference committee underway presently. ATVAM will advocate for the Governor’s recommendation of $300,000 to Trails and Waterways and if the remaining money is to be appropriated we would ask that it go into the local enforcement grant program.

There are two minor bills that have been heard in the House and added in the House’s version of the supplemental budget bill. The first is HF3057 a technical change that has to do with youthful operations of ATV’s. The language clarifies where a youth can operate their ATV if they cannot properly reach the handlebars and foot pegs on their ATV. The second bill was added as policy language in the supplemental budget bill and it changes the temporary permit for when you purchase a new ATV from 10 to 21 days. This will allow the dealer you purchased your ATV from 21 days to get you your permit from DNR and will reduce the number of registration violations on new machines.

There were two bills that dealt with classifying and naming the new machines that are commonly called “mini-trucks.” Both bills were introduced and never heard in committee because the language was bad, and the groups that introduced the bill will work on their bills and remove any changes to ATV policy while trying to find a place for these vehicles. We will continue to monitor this situation and work with whomever we need to in order to protect our trails from vehicles that do not belong on ATV trails.

Another project ATVAM worked on this session was the transfer of money from our accounts to help pay for two connector culverts at Hwy. 137 and one at the haul road. These culverts will connect trails to the park in order to increase the connectivity of the area. ATV’s put in $400,000, OHM’s put in $75,000, ORV’s put in $125,000 and Snowmobiles put in $100,000. We’re also hoping that an additional $300,000 will be used from an account for motorized vehicle trails from federal funds.

The Forests for the Future Program (Forest Legacy) language was included in roughly 4 different bills and we are waiting to see in which one they decide to pass it. There was language in this bill that would keep “public recreation” open on these newly acquired easements. This will be the MN statutory program that mirrors the federal Forest Legacy program.

There was a major battle this session with Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation who had bills introduced to repeal the un-refunded gas tax accounts of ATV’s, boats, OHM’s, ORV’s, and snowmobiles. The first bill was later returned to its author. The only traction these bills have gained is an informational hearing in the House. The bill was scheduled for a hearing that was later cancelled and changed to an informational hearing. This is the beginning of an assault on our un-refunded gas tax system of funding. ATVAM must continue to fight these radical anti-access groups in the coming sessions.

Another bill was introduced to close the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest to all ATV use. This guts the work that DNR and Beltrami County did to come to an agreement on ATV use in the area. It was rumored this bill was going to be offered as an amendment to the Omnibus Policy Environment bill, but was never offered in committee.

HF4028 was introduced by Rep. Howes (R-Walker) and is a true assault on our recreational activity. It does numerous things that would damage most of the progress we have made since 1984. First, it adds speed limits of 10mph in most areas. Second, it creates new criminal penalties for minor violations and makes them gross misdemeanors. Third, it creates new forfeiture laws for minor violations. Fourth, it adds all ATV related violations to the violator’s official driving record. Fifth, it doubles all citation amounts for damage to property tickets. Sixth, it loosens the language of the ATV damage account. Those descriptions are just minimal examples of what certain parts of the bill does, but it goes to great length to ruin our sport, and gut everything that we have accomplished in the 25 years of ATVAM.

We will continue our work on the supplemental budget bill in the closing days of session. The 2008 session is set to wrap up on May 19.


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